Clerk kept order in the Ottawa court for 39 years

Maxine Bolton remembers quitting her job in the early 1950s at the former General Telephone and Electronics in Muskegon to become a full-time mother.

Maxine Bolton

"I cried and cried," she said of that day. "But after a couple of days, I never ever cried about the place again."

Bolton hopes her tears will subside just as quickly this weekend after leaving a job she has had the past 39 years. Her last day before retiring as chief deputy clerk with Ottawa County's 58th District Court in Grand Haven was Friday.

Bolton said she expects more than a few tears will be shed, but adds, "it is time to move on."

For many, it will be hard to envision the county building in Grand Haven without Maxine Bolton.

"She has been here as long as I can remember," Chief District Judge Richard Kloote said.

"She has done a remarkable job. Everyone loves Maxine. She is a friend to police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, everyone. We will miss her expertise."

As chief deputy clerk, she has overseen the Grand Haven District Court and its 10 employees. Bolton, who keeps her age a guarded secret, worked for the county well past the time when most people retire. She said she continued working past retirement age, especially after her husband of 45 years, Russell, died in 1995. "Work was all I had," she said.

"I decided to keep working," said Bolton. "I don't know what I would have done without the wonderful people I worked with both inside and outside this office."

But with a new courthouse under construction, Bolton says she simply does not have the desire to put up with another move. She has had to move her operations twice during her years with the court, and that's enough.

"I concluded it was time to make a big change. It's time for fun," she said.

Bolton's court career extends back to 1967 when she accepted a position with Grand Haven Municipal Court. Prior to that, she lived in Muskegon, graduated from Muskegon High School, attended Muskegon Business College and worked for General Telephone. When she married Russell Bolton, a tool designer for Gardner Denver Tool, she moved to Spring Lake and later to Grand Haven.

Grand Haven's' municipal court was housed in the basement of Grand Haven City Hall and had only two employees besides the court clerk. She primarily prepared the traffic court dockets. Often, she worked from home.

Under statewide restructuring, in which municipal courts merged with district courts, Maxine Bolton became Ottawa County's district court traffic clerk in 1969. Six years later, she was named criminal clerk, and in 1977, became the court clerk. By 1983, she was named chief court clerk and oversaw Ottawa County's district courts in Grand Haven, Holland and Hudsonville.

When a court administrator position was created about 10 years ago, Bolton was named chief clerk of the district court in Grand Haven.

"It has become more complicated with new procedures and laws and changing technology," she said. "It's not like the old municipal court."

During retirement, Bolton is planning to travel, read, play cards and an occasional game of miniature golf. Her two sons, Gregory and Eric, live in Grand Haven. Bolton's position in district court will be filled by Tami Harvey, a supervisor in the county's juvenile court.